Loving Rudolph (For All The Wrong Reasons?)

(Nothing Says "Happy Holidays" like a Bumble and a Dude falling off a cliff!)

My favorite Christmas Holiday Special is Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. They are showing it on TV tonight. I won't be home, but I've got it DVR'ed. Can't miss it. I mean, TECHNICALLY it's still November and we could've waited a little longer into the season, CBS, but we'll take what we can get. I'm assuming they will not be showing the remastered version, and opt instead for the horribly degraded version where the underscoring sounds like it's being played on a playskool record player from 1978 and butchered editing that makes less and less sense as they continue to increase the amount of commercials they cram into the hour-long format. Maybe one day they'll release "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: Extended Edition" on blu-ray, and I can get to see all my favorite songs played out in their entirety. Today is not that day.

It should be no big shocker I like the Rudolph special. Lots of people do. But upon reflection, maybe I liked it for all the wrong reasons. Let's review my favorite parts:

1. Donner being an asshole of a father to Rudolph, and making him cover his nose.
2. The part where Hermey is (rightfully) fired from Santa's Workshop because he doesn't want to make toys, so he can follow his dream of being a gay dentist. Oooh, I hate that snot-nosed Hermey!
3. The super-sad song Clarice sings (There's Always Tomorrow) after Rudolph is nose-bashed by the other reindeer. It's the first song I listen to when it's seasonally okay to listed to Christmas carols each year.
4. The Bumble almost killing everyone throughout the story - but I was always especially delight in Yukon Cornelius's assumed death. And his stupid dogs too!
5. The totally sad opening to the "Island of Misfit Toys" Song. They make it happy at the end, but the beginning is the best. A total precursor to all the damaged toys in the Toy Story movies. And OMG aren't you in love with King Moonracer?
6. Mrs. Claus angrily trying to force feed a Skinny Santa. Eat! Eat!
7. The snow storm that almost takes out Sam the Snowman.
8. The fog that almost makes Santa cancel Christmas and disappoints everybody.
9. The pissed off face Santa makes when Rudolph's nose is blaring away in front of him, before he realizes Rudolph can guide the sleigh.
10. The singing of Holly Jolly Christmas when everyone is happy at the end. (Okay, so there's ONE nice thing I like about the show.)

So obvs. I have issues since I spend most of the hour-long show wishing failure and death upon the lead characters, and victory for the Bumble. I still count myself as being Team Rudolph, however. Maybe I don't always get the Christmas Special I want, but I get the Christmas special I need.

ATP World Tour Finals: Rafa finally wins a set - and then a match!

(Purple Shirt, Yellow-Orange Bandana and Wrist bands, Grey Shorts. Rafa never met a color combo he didn't like.)

It's been a while since I last posted about Our Hero, Rafael Nadal. There hasn't been a ton of tennis news. But now we've finally made it to the ATP World Tour Finals, the end of year tournament featuring the Top 8 men's players on Tour. The first part of the tourney is 2 groups of 4 playing against each other Round Robin style. Then the top 2 from each group play against each other in a single elimination semifinal, and those winners go on to the final.

Rafa had a terrible tournament here last year. He went 0-3 in round robin play. He didn't even win a set. Poor, Rafa. He was having a rough time physically last year. Obviously he's doing better this year, having won 3 Grand Slams in a row. Still, this is a tough tourney for Nadal. It's an indoor court and it's very fast which doesn't play well to Rafa's game. Plus, you know, it's November. And the season started way back in JANUARY. And Nadal has been winning and winning this year. So he's kinda tired. But you know, he's number one in the world, so he's there and ready to play! Having not won a set or a match, he can't really get any worse!

And lo and behold, things have already gotten better. Nadal rallied back from a set down to beat Andy Roddick 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 today. It's a very good sign that Rafa could get over a shaky start to fight back against tough serving Roddick and get the win. That will be great for his confidence. I would love for Rafa to win the ATP Finals, but he still has a tough road ahead of him. Up next is Djokovic and that should be a very hard fought match as well. Vamos Rafa!

Also, I should take a moment to congratulate Rafa on winning the ATP Tour’s Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the first time in his career. The award is voted on by tour players. Roger Federer had won the last six years in a row. Quite a nice honor. Congrats, Rafa!


Added Bonus: Here's a little promo reel for Rafa at the tour finals. It's hilarious when his head starts bouncing around in front of the starry sky. LOL

Run Owen Run! The 2010 ING New York City Marathon (Part III - Dream Warriors)

(Me on Saturday evening outside the finish line, practicing my finishing pose. My actual cross of the line today was much more subdued.)

Thanks to everyone who sent such supportive messages and stood out in the cold to cheer me on today. My official time was 3:52:21. It was a smidge slower than last year, by like a minute, but that's mostly because when I knew for certain I'd be under 4 hours, I slowed down to enjoy the end of the race and try and find my cheering sections that I knew would be hanging out around miles 23 and 25. I missed both of them, but I don't regret the attempt to find them or the slower finish. :) I totally booked it through the first half of the course, and it's nice to know I keep chipping away at that 1/2 marathon time.

It was really a lovely day for a marathon. The weather was cool, the sky was clear and the wind wasn't strong. Shout out to my coworker Cathy who had a friend at Poland Spring who hooked both of us up with VIP bus and tent passes and VIP baggage check. It's like the difference between flying coach and first class, peeps. On the course, all us runners enjoyed had an amazingly vocal and supportive crowd throughout the entire race. It's such a special event. You've gotta see for yourself. I strongly encourage those who are considering running for the first time to go ahead and enter the lottery and see what happens. I went from not really running at all to training for the marathon my first year, and it worked out to be one of the best things i could've done for myself.

As is tradition, I am posting my marathon playlist below, as it is what carries me along the way on my journey across the boroughs of this fair city. I almost had to run without it, as I turned in my bag to the UPS trucks (they take them from the start area in Staten Island to the finish area in Central Park) with my ipod still inside. Luckily the volunteer at the truck took pity on me and fished the bag out again. I would've been lost without my tunes. (Note: I actually came in during I'm So that Guy, but the rest of the songs played as I staggered off to get my medal and then further staggered off to pick up my bag and then stagger out of the park.)

You Can't Take No For An Answer - Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem
Empire State Of Mind - Jay-Z Ft. Alicia Keys
Go for It - Saved By The Soundtrack
Final Fantasy IV - Main Theme
Happy Birthday Darling - Bright Lights, Big City (Studio Cast)
Vertigo (Single Version) - U2
One Minute - Kelly Clarkson
Bombs Away - Paris Texas
Breakthrough - Hope 7
I Do Not Hook Up - Kelly Clarkson
The Goonies R Good Enough - Cyndi Lauper
Zip A Dee Do Dah - Dance Dance Revolution
Fake Your Way to the Top - Dreamgirls Movie Soundtrack
I'm Not That Guy - Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
You Don't Know Me (feat. Regina Spektor) - Ben Folds
BTW - Write Back - Andrea Burns
Twilight Zone – Dance Dance Revolution
Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
Any Way You Want It / Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' - Glee Cast
Cheer Up, Boys (your make-up is running) - Foo Fighters
The Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In - Hair, OBC
Mickey Mouse March - Dance Dance Revolution
A Weekend in the Country - A Little Night Music
Halo / Walking On Sunshine - Glee Cast
The Water Song - Julia Meinwald
Superboy and the Invisible Girl - Next To Normal
Barrel of a Gun - Guster
Music Is The Victim - Scissor Sisters
Chim Chim Cher-ee - Dance Dance Revolution
It Gets Better - Broadway Sings For The Trevor Project
Oh My - Mellowdrone
Rock Star - Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Rent - Rent Broadway Soundtrack
Don't Rain On My Parade - Glee Cast
Don't Waste Your Time Kelly Clarkson
The Great Compromise - Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Die Vampire, Die! - Title of Show
Blinded (When I See You) - Third Eye Blind
It's A Small World (Bows) - Les Freres Corbusier
Motorcycle Drive By - Third Eye Blind
Hair - Gavin Creel, Will Swenson & Tribe
Can You Picture That? - Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem
Buffy Theme - Nerf Herder
Populism, Yea Yea - Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Run (I'm a Natural Disaster) - Gnarls Barkley
Homecoming - American Idiot Soundtrack
bleeding love - leona lewis
U & Ur Hand - Pink
River Deep, Mountain High - Glee Cast
Touch Natasha Bedingfield
Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
F--- You - Cee Lo Green
How Far We've Come - Matchbox Twenty
Looking At the World from the Bottom of a Well - Mike Doughty
Take My Temperature - Kaiser Chiefs
Where Are Those People Who Did Hair - Runaways
If I Can't Have You - Kelly Clarkson
Pounding - Doves
Bastian's Happy Flight - NeverEnding Story
Who Knew - P!nk
I'm Black / Ain't Got No - Hair
Gone - Kelly Clarkson
Carnaval Del Barrio - In The Heights
Goodnight Goodnight - Hot Hot Heat
Last Of The American Girls/She's A Rebel - American Idiot Soundtrack
Bad Romance (Album Version) - Lady GaGa
Saved by the Bell Theme - Michael Damian
I Got Life - Gavin Creel & Tribe
Sex On Fire - Kings Of Leon
I'm So That Guy - Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Macho Duck - Dance Dance Revolution
So What (Main Version) - P!nk
The Simpsons Theme (From "The Simpsons Movie") - Green Day
My Life Would Suck Without You - Kelly Clarkson
Don't Stop Me Now - Queen

My Words & The Stage, Together Again in "The Hotel Plays"

I'm excited to announce that a short play I wrote, "More Than A Memory" will be given a staged reading next week at the Abingdon Theater! I was just at rehearsal on Tuesday, and I'm really excited about the cast and the director. I think they're gonna take it someplace really great, and in such a short rehearsal window! You should come check it out if you are in the city:

The Hotel Plays

16 playwrights + 31 actors + 7 directors + 2 nights = 12 new plays and 4 new monologues

Twelve playwrights take on the challenge to write a 10-minute play, four playwrights to write a 2-minute monologue, all inspired by the set from Abingdon’s current production of The Nanjing Race.

Playwrights, directors and actors are donating their talent to present these staged readings as a benefit for Abingdon’s New Play Development Program.

$10 suggested donation at the door. Call 212-868-2055 for further information.

SERIES A

Tuesday, November 9, 2010
6:30pm & 8:30pm

Playwrights:
Jonathan Alexandratos | James Armstrong | Nathalie Bates | Stephanie Keys | Owen Panettieri | Raymond A. Schaub | William Shuman | Frank Tangredi

Directors:
Catherine Siracusa | Amanda Joshi | Kate Powers | Bara Swain

Featuring:
Kim Allen* | Georgina Bates | Gail Merzer Behrens* | Dave Brown | Sheila Burkert* | Susanna A. Guzmán* | Michael Hardart* | Walker Hare | Brian Linden* | JoAnn Mariano* | Patti Mariano* | Sean Mellott | Liam Mitchell Paige O’Malley | Jennifer Rubins*

* Member of Actors' Equity Association